Flea-Borne Typhus as a COVID-19 Mimic: A Report of Four Cases.
Case Rep Infect Dis
; 2024: 9914306, 2024.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38384261
ABSTRACT
Flea-borne typhus (FBT), due to Rickettsia typhi and R. felis, is an infection causing fever, headache, rash, hepatitis, thrombocytopenia, and diverse organ manifestations. Cough occurs in about 30% of patients with FBT, and chest X-ray abnormalities are seen in 17%. Severe pulmonary manifestations have also been reported in FBT, including adult respiratory distress syndrome and pulmonary embolism. Because of these pulmonary manifestations, FBT can mimic Coronavirus Illness 2019 (COVID-19), a febrile illness with prominent respiratory involvement. Flea-borne typhus and COVID-19 may also have similar laboratory abnormalities, including elevated ferritin, C-reactive protein, and D-dimer. However, elevated transaminase levels, rash, and thrombocytopenia are more common in FBT. Herein, we present four cases of patients with FBT who were initially suspected to have COVID-19. These cases illustrate the problem of availability bias, in which the clinician thinks a particular common condition (COVID-19 in this case) is more prevalent than it actually is.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Case Rep Infect Dis
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos